For years, head coach Ed Stephenson’s men’s lacrosse team has hung with the best teams in the country. But, despite two top 10 wins and a recent national ranking, the Bearcats have not been able to get over the hump and reach the NCAA tournament.
But with most contributors from 2007 returning, and a blue chip recruiting class, Binghamton is now hoping to win a championship in the increasingly tough America East conference.
In the past three years, the Bearcats have had nine freshmen named to the America East All-Rookie Team — more than any other team. This year, Stephenson hopes a fourth straight class will help his squad shed the “talented but young” label it has had years past and begin to be known as a deep, well-rounded championship contender.
Stephenson, a former All-American defender at Towson University, has molded the team in his image: The Bearcats are led by their defense, and tend to win low-scoring games.
Despite losing first-team All-AE defenseman Tom Wilmot, the defensive unit could be one of the strongest in the conference, keeping key players and adding talented freshmen. Senior Mike Cove and sophomore Griffin McLoughlin, both starters in 2007, will be joined by junior Chris Winter in the starting lineup. Although Cove is 5 feet 6 inches and Winter is 5 feet 9 inches, the Bearcats, who add size off the bench, are confident in their abilities to play the passing lanes as a quicker defensive team than in the past.
“I think we’re a quick defense, and that’s going to help us cover some of the smaller, shiftier attackmen,” said Winter. “Obviously [Wilmot] was a big part of our defense last year, but I feel like with the group we have coming back, and the freshmen this year, we might not be as physical a defense, but we are going to be better in other aspects.”
The midfield line returns senior Stephen Smith, a 2007 AE first-teamer, and sophomore Steve Carlson, the 2007 AE Rookie of the Year. Carlson’s classmates Drew Wichmann and Andy Cook, as well as juniors Duncan Streeten and Kevin Joy, add experience to the unit. The biggest change in the midfield, however, will be the depth Binghamton can employ at the position.
“We only lost one or two midfielders from last year and we can now throw three solid lines out at people,” Winter said. “That will help our depth, and we’ll be able to wear teams down.”
Jake Boyce and Chris Mulheron, both junior attackmen, will lead an offense that in years past has been talented but inconsistent. Stephenson hopes the addition of freshmen Brian Donahue and Adam Mazzoni will help the juniors put some points on the board.
At goal, senior Larry Kline will start, hoping to erase bad memories of an inconsistent junior season. In 2007, Kline played spectacularly at times, particularly in the upset of No. 6 Albany. But he lacked confidence, and worried about losing his starting spot. This year, Kline is ready to put the team on his back.
“I’ll be the first one to say that I never really settled into a flow,” said Kline. “I was always worrying and looking over my shoulder. If you start doing that, you get out of your own game. You have to focus on yourself and what you’re doing and I’ve definitely done a lot more of that this year.”
Stephenson has once again scheduled a mix of national powers in 2008, including Cornell, Syracuse, Colgate, and Drexel — not to mention ranked AE foes Albany and UMBC. Binghamton has upset ranked opponents before, and has come close to beating national title contenders.
For the Bearcats’ coach, however, coming close is no longer good enough.
“Our goal is to win a national championship,” Stephenson said. “First thing you’ve got to do is get to the NCAA tournament, and then take it one at a time. We have to take it one at a time just to get to the NCAA tournament.”